Automatic sizing of embroidery

ABSTRACT

A stitch pattern for a word or other design is created using known methods of forming a stitch pattern for the word to be stitched. The horizontal and vertical dimensions of the stitch pattern are then compared to the dimensions of the sewing area. This comparison is expressed as a ratio which may be used to adjust the size of the stitch pattern to optimally fit the sewing area. The ratio may be applied to individual stitch patterns for letter characters that are combined to form a word or may be applied to a stitch pattern for an entire word or design.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system for automatically sizing words and other designs for embroidery. Specifically, the invention provides a system for use in automated stitching machines to analyze and alter the height and width of a word or other stitch pattern so that it fits into a space provided as a sewing area.

2. Prior Art

The high volume sewn personalization trade requires automation to produce stitching data for embroidery and monogram machines. This stitching data must meet certain criteria specific to the garment or material to be embroidered, lettering height, font, type of thread, and general look and feel desired.

Due to the variable name lengths of proper noun personalization and the fixed size of the item being personalized, be it a badge, the inside of a border, or a certain position on a garment, a technique to best fit the personalization onto the item to be sewn is desirable.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,816 to Tomita discloses a method of automatically sizing a stitch pattern so that it fits in a sewing area of predetermined size. Three stitch patterns of different size are prerecorded for each design that may be used in a sewing area. Which stitch pattern is used is determined by the size of the sewing area available. This patent discloses a method suitable only for single stitch patterns and not combinations thereof. It does not use the dimensions of an original stitch pattern to determine an optimum size for a stitch pattern for a particular sewing area.

Similarly, attempts to auto-size or auto-fit previously generated stitch data have included fixed tables with personalization character lengths and associated lettering heights. As the name lengths increase the sewing size is reduced at predefined intervals.

A stitch job generally includes a series of words to be stitched which is transformed into a series of stitch patterns. This is accomplished by either generating a stitch pattern for the word as a whole or by combining the stored stitch patterns for individual letters. A stitching machine may be programmed to automatically use a certain size font when a word is 5 characters or less, a smaller font when a word is between 5 and 7 characters, and a still smaller font for words greater than 7 characters in length. The font is thereby chosen by the number of characters in a word, and a stitch pattern is generated. This method, however, is not perfect. Different characters have different sizes. For example, a “W” is much wider than an “I.” Words made up of especially wide characters may not fit into the predefined space even after they have been sized. Similarly, words made up of narrow characters may be sized smaller than necessary. Therefore, a stitch job often must be sized manually even when auto-sizing or auto-fit software is used in order to prevent a stitch pattern from instructing an embroidery machine to apply the stitching needle to areas outside the sewing area.

A number of factors influence the dimensions of an word's or individual character's stitch pattern, such as lettering height, horizontal or vertical letter spacing, horizontal or vertical line spacing, stitch density, stitch width/pull compensation, capitalization, apostrophes and other enhancements, character kerning, and special effects like italics, arches, and slants.

Typically, a stitch job made up of a series of names or other words is provided to an embroidery machine operator. These stitch jobs are generally provided from a source having little or no knowledge of the operation and functionality of a stitching machine. Therefore, the words or patterns of character sequences are not optimized for the sewing area used in the embroidery process. An operator must therefore approximate a size for the stitch job series and then test whether the approximated size is suitable.

For example, a stitch job made up of a series of names may be provided to be embroidered onto name tags. The names may be provided written or typed on paper, or more commonly, stored in a computer file. The operator must first select a vertical height or font size to be used with the names that is appropriate for the vertical height of the name tag to be embroidered.

Once a font size is chosen, the operator may then apply an automated, step-wise program of the stitching machine to automatically adjust the size of the letters according to the number of letters in each name in the series. However, as indicated above, the operator must still double check the results of the step-wise auto-fitting program after the modified, sized word patterns are converted into stitch patterns. Depending on the various lengths of the names in a particular stitch job, an operator may then be required to further adjust the sizing of some or all of the names to optimize them for the sewing frame used.

It is therefore desirable to provide a method for accurately determining the optimal size for a word in a sewing area.

It is therefore also desirable to provide a method for accurately and rapidly determining the optimal size of a word for use in a sewing area that may be readily incorporated into existing methods of operating embroidery machinery.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a means for processing a series of words in a stitch job so that they are optimally sized to fit into a sewing area. This processing is preferably done by computer software as part of or in conjunction with software operating one or more machines. Stitch patterns are created for one or more words using known methods. The maximum horizontal and vertical dimensions of the stitch pattern are then compared to the dimensions of the sewing area. This comparison is expressed as a ratio which may be used to adjust the size of the stitch pattern to optimally fit the sewing area.

A sewing area, such as a nametag, is typically substantially rectangular having a height and a width. The maximum sewing limits and optimal size of stitch patterns applied to a sewing area are defined by these dimensions. An image, such as one or more words, is converted into a stitch pattern, which is comprised of a series of commands directing the needles of an automatic embroidery machine. The invention measures the maximum vertical and horizontal distances traveled by the needle when performing the stitch pattern. These distances define the maximum height and width of the stitch pattern. The height and width of the stitch pattern are compared to the height and width of the sewing area to be fit. When at least one of the dimensions of the stitch pattern is not equal to a corresponding dimension of the sewing area, an adjustment ratio is calculated. The dimensions of the original image are then adjusted using the adjustment ratio to form a new, optimally sized image. This optimally sized image is then converted into an optimal stitch pattern that is properly sized to the sewing area. This process is repeated for each image in a stitch job. Optionally, the invention may adjust the size of the stitch pattern only if one of the dimensions of the stitch pattern is greater than the corresponding dimension of the sewing area. A stitch pattern is only reduced to fit within a sewing area and is not enlarged when the size of the sewing area allows it.

A guard area within the desired dimensions may also be used to refine the approximated stitch pattern. The guard area is a buffer zone between a sewing frame and the sewing area. This protects the sewing machinery presser foot and needle assembly from floating point/decimal precision and other errors in the size and ratio computations. Often the sewing area is bordered with a frame or hooping device which must not be sewn onto. Hoops or frames are constructed of materials that are rigid and cannot be penetrated by a sewing needle without risk of damage to the item being sewn, needle, sewing machine, or risk of shrapnel to a machine operator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a stitch job comprising a rectangular composite image for use with the invention.

FIG. 2 is another stitch job comprising a rectangular composite image for use with the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a sewing area for use with the invention.

FIG. 5 is another rectangular stitch job comprising a composite image of use with the invention.

FIG. 6 is the rectangular composite image of FIG. 5 optimized by the invention to fit in the sewing frame of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is another stitch job comprising a rectangular composite image for use with the invention.

FIG. 8 is another sewing area for use with the invention.

FIG. 9 is the rectangular composite image of FIG. 8 optimized by the invention to fit in the sewing area of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a stitch pattern of an image of a stitch job for use with the invention.

FIG. 11 is another sewing area for use with the invention.

FIG. 12 is the stitch pattern of FIG. 11 optimized to fit in the sewing area of FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention reconstructs stitch patterns to an optimal size for a specific sewing area. Stitch patterns are created from images consisting of one or more words, lines of text or other images. The stitch patterns are typically created using software known in the art. Each stitch pattern is a series of commands that instruct an embroidery machine where to place a needle and make individual stitches, what thread to use and other information. The sewing area is typically a portion of a clothing item, a textile item, a patch, a nametag, or the like. The sewing area is often bounded by a frame, or “hoop.” The frame is often a rigid item through which a needle may not pass. Frames are used to tightly hold a sewing area in place while it is being embroidered and often define the boundaries of a sewing area.

The height and width, i.e. the maximum horizontal and vertical dimensions, of a stitch pattern are readily determined by parsing the commands of a stitch pattern into horizontal and vertical components and determining the maximum distances traveled in each dimension during performance of the stitch pattern. The image and corresponding stitch pattern are both referred to as rectangular because they may both be defined by a height and a width.

The invention calculates an adjustment ratio that is used to reduce or increase the overall size of a stitch pattern. This adjustment ratio is applied to the original image from which an initial stitch pattern was created. This is done using methods similar to or the same as those used for adjusting the size of images or fonts by means of computer software. This adjusted image is then used to create an adjusted stitch pattern. The adjusted stitch pattern does not exceed the dimensions of the sewing area.

FIG. 1 shows a rectangular image 10 for use in embroidery. The image 10 of FIG. 1 is a made up of three characters, in this case letters, combined in a linear sequence to form the word “WOW.” The word “WOW” is a composite image created by combining character images of the letters “W,” “O,” and a second “W.” Composite images comprised of letters are typically referred to as words. However, other composite images may be formed by placing a plurality of characters in a sequence. A composite image may be a word, a number comprised of a sequence of numerical characters, such as “12,345.05,” a sequence of mathematical symbols to form an equation, such as “π≠∞,” or any other characters that may be grouped in a linear sequence. The composite image, while linear and sequential, is not necessarily sequential horizontally. The composite image may be comprised of a linear sequence combined vertically, such as with Chinese writing. In embroidery the most common composite images are words, particularly names. Therefore, word composite images have been used illustratively in this disclosure. However, the invention is effective for manipulating and processing any image that may be expressed as having a maximum height and maximum width that defines a rectangle. The invention may be used to modify single images as well as composite images formed from a group of character images.

Image 10 is formed from a first character 16 for the letter “W,” a second character 17 for the letter “O,” and a third character 18 for the letter “W.” Character 16 has a width 20, character 17 has a width 21 and character 18 has a width 22. These widths sum to form a width 12 of the composite image 10. The characters 16, 17 and 18 of image 10 also have equivalent heights 14. Because the characters of image 10 are linearly sequential along their widths, the heights 14 of the characters 16, 17 and 18 are equal to the height of the composite image 10.

FIG. 2 shows a second rectangular composite image 30 for the word “ILL.” Composite image 30 is comprised of a sequential combination of characters, formed from character 36 for the letter “I,” character 37 for the letter “L” and character 38 also for the letter “L.” Characters 36, 37 and 38 have widths 40, 41 and 42 respectively that sum to form width 32 of image 30. Characters 36, 37 and 38 also have heights 34 which are equivalent to the height of image 30. In addition, height 34 is equivalent to height 14 of image 10 in FIG. 1.

Both composite images 10 and 30 are comprised of three characters of the Roman alphabet. Although heights 14 and 34 are equivalent, their widths 12 and 32 are substantially different. This is because the characters of image 10 are substantially wider than the characters of image 30. It is common for words or other composite images having the same height, often referred to as font size, to have different widths. In the prior art, stepwise methods of reducing a composite image are used to adjust image size according to the number of characters regardless of actual width. An operator using a stepwise size adjusting method would have to manually verify that the wide image 10 does not exceed the width requirements of the sewing frame. Similarly, a relatively narrow word such as image 30, may have its size reduced unnecessarily due to a stepwise adjustment method automatically changing the size of the image regardless of the images actual dimensions.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart 50 of the method of the present invention for adjusting images, including composite images. The invention is ideally performed using software that is compatible with the software used to operate embroidery machinery and/or software used to adjust the size of images. Databases containing a plentitude of combinable character images are readily available and compatible with such software. Use of computer processing to perform the invention greatly increases the speed with which the invention may be performed. When using the invention disclosed herein, there is no need for manual verification of the stitch job instructions that are fed into the embroidery machine operating software.

Flowchart 50 begins with the input 52 of stitch job data. The data may include several different types of information. If the invention is embodied in a software program that is used in conjunction with or is incorporated into software for operating one or several embroidery machines, the total amount and types of data may far exceed the data required for the invention. Job stitch data typically includes a series of images to be embroidered, the height and width of the frame, the guard area to be used when adjusting the images, the type and color of thread to be used, and other data. The invention typically only requires the height and width dimensions of the sewing area and the series of images to be embroidered.

In step 54 data for the first or next image in a series is selected for adjustment, and an image is created from it. The invention adjusts images in a series of images one at a time. Before being processed by the invention, the image is an initial, rectangular image. Often the image is provided as a series of characters and a preferred character height. When this is the case, the image is generated by forming it from the character sequence at the given height.

When the image is a character sequence and no initial height is specified, it may be created in step 54 by forming the initial image at the height provided for the sewing area. In this manner, one dimension of the image is already sized to fit the sewing area. This is possible because when the image is horizontally linear, such as with a word, the height of the character images is equal to the height of the word image. Similarly, the invention can process a vertically linear character sequence by forming the initial word image at the width provided for the sewing area. This may be preferable when the image is vertically linear, such as with a Chinese word, where the width of the character images is equal to the width of the word image. In addition, the invention may form the initial word image by selecting a character height equal to the height of the sewing area divided by the number of rows of the linear sequences in the image. E.g., if the image comprises two rows of linear character sequences, the invention may initially form the image by using character images that are one half the height of the sewing area. The invention may similarly determine the appropriate width for character images in a vertically linear sequence by dividing the width of the sewing area by the number of columns in the image. The initial image is rectangular having a height Y_(O) and a width X_(O).

In step 56 a stitch pattern is created based on the image formed in step 54. It is known in the art of embroidery to use software and computer processing means to convert an image into a stitch pattern that is typically used to operate an automated embroidery machine.

In measuring step 58, the height, Y_(i), and the width, X_(i), of the initial, unmodified stitch pattern is determined. This is done by parsing the commands of the stitch pattern into horizontal and vertical movements. The highest and lowest vertical points and the furthest left and right points of the stitch pattern and the distances between them are determined. This provides the minimum height and width needed in a sewing area for the stitch pattern to fit.

In calculation step 59, two adjustment ratios are calculated. The vertical adjustment ratio, R_(y), and the horizontal adjustment ratio, R_(x), measure the differences in height and width of the initial image and the sewing area. R_(X) and R_(Y) are calculated using the following equations:

R _(x)=(X _(F)−2G _(X))/X _(i) R _(y)=(Y _(F)−2G _(y))/Y _(i)

Where X_(F) is the width of the sewing area, Y_(F) is the height of the sewing area, G_(x) is a horizontal guard area and G_(y) is a vertical guard area. The guard areas are factored into the equation as a buffer zone to insure that sufficient room is provided between a frame and the sewing area. As frames are moved through a stitching machine, small inaccuracies in the placement of the frame and the movement of a stitching needle are possible. A variety of other factors contribute to inaccuracies identifying the precise boundaries of the sewing area. To compensate for these generally unavoidable small errors, a guard area is provided around the sewing area. The values G_(x) and G_(y) are doubled in the above equations to reflect that G_(x) is on either side of the width of the sewing area and G_(y) is both above and below the sewing area. The values of the guard areas are generally provided as part of the input of step 52. If no values are entered for the guard areas, then G_(x) and G_(y) are equal to 0.

In the following step 60, ratios R_(x) and R_(y) are compared, and the lesser value is chosen to adjust the image. The adjusted image is then used to reconstruct the stitch pattern so that it fits within the sewing area. By selecting the adjustment ratio with the smaller value, the image is sized so that it fits within the sewing area whether the initial stitch pattern was smaller or larger than optimal.

When R_(y) is the smaller value, it is used in step 62 to adjust the size of the image. The width and height of the image, X_(O) and Y_(O), are multiplied by R_(y) resulting in X_(A) and Y_(A), respectively. Alternatively, when R_(X) is the smaller value, it is used in step 64 to adjust the size of the image. The width and height of the initial image, X_(O) and Y_(O), are multiplied by R_(x) resulting in X_(A) and Y_(A), respectively. Either step 62 or 64 is used to adjust the image.

Alternatively, images for individual characters may be adjusted using the adjustment ratios and an adjusted composite image may be formed from the adjusted character images. Once the character images of a composite image are adjusted, they are used to reconstruct the image to form an adjusted composite image in the same sequence as in the original image.

In step 66, the new, adjusted image is formed having the dimensions calculated in step 62 or 64. The modified image is sized correctly to optimally fit within a sewing area.

Alternatively, in step 66 the individual character images are adjusted and then recombined to form the adjusted image. Whether the modified image is constructed using individually modified character images or by applying the adjustment ratio directly to the initial image created, as e.g. in step 54, will depend upon how the invention is integrated into the embroidery automation system.

Regardless of whether the adjustment ratio is applied to the individual character images in order to form an adjusted image or the initial image is adjusted directly using the selected adjustment ratio, one of the significant advantages of the invention is its use of the initial stitch pattern to determine the minimum height and width of a sewing area necessary to ensure the accuracy of calculating an optimally sized and proportioned final, adjusted stitch pattern. This “virtual” dry run saves an operator the significant time and effort involved other methods of insuring that a needle of an embroidery machine will not stray into a dangerous area. In addition, it eliminates the possibility of user error in failing to notice an unacceptable movement by a needle during an actual dry run or a stitch pattern.

In step 67 the adjusted composite image is converted into an adjusted stitch pattern. Once the adjusted stitch pattern has been constructed, it is stored in step 68 so that it may be used with an automatic embroidery machine to stitch the stitch pattern into a sewing area. Step 70 repeats the process of steps 54, 55, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 67 and 68 until all of the word images have been modified to match the sewing area.

In final step 72, the invention creates a signal to indicate that the sizing process is completed. This informs an operator that the initial stitch job data has been processed to optimally size the composite images of the job.

FIGS. 4-6 illustrate the modification of a rectangular composite according to the invention. FIG. 4 shows a sewing area 80. Sewing area 80 has a border 84 with a width 90, designated X_(F) above. Sewing area 80 also has a height 88, designated Y_(F) above. Sewing area 80 has safe zone 82 surrounded by guard area 86. Guard area 86 is comprised of horizontal guard areas 96, designated G_(x) above, and vertical guard areas 98, designated G_(y) above. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the value of the safe zone height 94 is equal to the value of the sewing area height 88 minus twice the value of the vertical guard area 98. Similarly, the value of the safe zone width 92 is equal to the value of the sewing area width 90 minus twice the value of the horizontal guard area 96. The invention constructs an adjusted image so that it will fit into the sewing area.

FIG. 5 shows a rectangular composite image 100 comprised of a horizontally linear sequence of characters. In FIG. 5 image 100 is a word comprised of character images 106 representing letters from the Roman alphabet and a blank spacing character image. Image 100 has a width 102 that is the sum of the widths of the individual character images 106 and a height 104 that is equivalent to the heights of the character images. Image 100 has been formed by using character images having a height 104 that is equal to the height 94 of safe zone 82 in FIG. 5. The invention compares the width and height of the image 100 with the dimensions of the safe zone 82 in the manner described through the flowchart of FIG. 4. The height 104 of the image 100 does not require adjustment. However, the width 102 of the image 100 does. Because the width 102 must be shortened, the height 104 of the image 100 is decreased so as to maintain the proper proportions of the character images. The result is shown in FIG. 6. Sewing area 80 contains modified image 101 having a width 103 and a height 105 calculated by means of the invention to be both properly proportioned and optimally sized to fit within the safe zone 82 of sewing area 80. Although the original height 104 was not too large to fit within safe zone 82, width 102 was. Therefore, height 104 was adjusted to maintain the proper proportion to the width of image 101. As explained above, the heights and width of the individual character images 106 may be adjusted and then combined to form an adjusted image. Or, alternatively, the entire image 100 may be adjusted prior to creating the adjusted stitch pattern.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show the invention being applied to fit a rectangular, composite image 120 of Chinese character images into a frame. Image 120 in FIG. 7 is a vertically linear composite image comprised of three Chinese characters 128. Each character has a width 124 and a height 126. Because the image 120 is vertically linear, the height 122 of image 120 is equal to the sum of character image heights 126, while the width 124 of image 120 is equal to the width 124 of the character images 128.

FIG. 8 shows a sewing area 140 having a width 144 and a height 142. No guard area has been provided for this frame. Here, the adjustment ratio is simply the ratio between the size of the sewing area and the size of the image.

FIG. 9 shows the result of applying the invention to the image 120 and sewing area 140 of FIGS. 8 and 9. Adjusted image 121 has an adjusted height 123 that is equal to height 142 of sewing area 140. The adjusted width 125 of adjusted image 121 also fits within the sewing area 140 so that image 121 is optimally sized. FIGS. 7-9 show that the invention works equally well when both the height and width of an image requires adjustment. The invention also works equally well when the composite image is vertically linear as opposed to horizontally linear.

FIGS. 10-12 illustrate the adjusting of stitch pattern 180 comprised of two lines of alpha numeric text. Stitch pattern 180 has a width 182 and a height 184. Height 184 is measured from the two most extreme stitching commands. Similarly, the width 182 is measured between the two most extreme horizontal stitch commands. The resulting area of the rectangle formed by the height 184 and width 182 provides a precise and accurate definition of the space required by the stitch pattern 180.

FIG. 11 shows a sewing area 190 with a height 200 and a width 198. Sewing area 190 has a safe zone 196 having a width 202 and a height 204. Guard area 194 lies between sewing area 192 and safe zone 196. Stitch pattern 180 of FIG. 10 is too large to fit within the sewing frame 192. The invention may be used to adjust the size of stitch pattern 180. The adjustment ratios are calculated, including the measurements of the guard area 194 as described above.

FIG. 12 shows the results of applying the invention to stitch pattern 180 so that it may be used with sewing area 192. Corrected stitch pattern 181 has been correctly sized to fit sewing area 196. As FIGS. 10-12 illustrate, words and other designs may be grouped into multiple words and may have two or more lines of text or rows of designs or symbols. Multiple columns of text may also be utilized with Chinese or other characters that are organized in a vertically linear fashion.

Whereas, the present invention has been described in relation to the drawings attached hereto, it should be understood that other and further modifications, apart from those shown or suggested herein, may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention. 

1. A method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size comprising: (a) measuring a width of an initial stitch pattern; (b) measuring a height of the initial stitch pattern; (c) calculating a horizontal adjustment ratio by dividing a width of a rectangular safe zone by the width of the initial stitch pattern; (d) calculating a vertical adjustment ratio by dividing a height of the rectangular safe zone by the height of the initial stitch pattern; (e) multiplying the initial image by the lesser of the horizontal adjustment ratio and the vertical adjustment ratio to produce an adjusted image; and, (f) processing the adjusted image into a final stitch pattern.
 2. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 1 wherein the rectangular safe zone is the rectangular sewing area.
 3. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 1 wherein the rectangular safe zone is inside a guard area of a sewing area and the width of the rectangular safe zone is equal to a width of a rectangular sewing area minus twice a width of the guard area and the height of the rectangular safe zone is equal to a height of the rectangular sewing area minus twice the height of the guard area.
 4. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 1 further comprising the step of processing an image for use in automated embroidery into an initial stitch pattern prior to the measuring of the width of the initial stitch pattern.
 5. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 1 wherein in the at least one image comprises a plurality of images and further comprising repeating steps (a) through (f) for each of the plurality of images.
 6. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 1 wherein steps (a) through (f) are performed by computer processing means compatible with existing computer processing means for use with automated embroidery machines.
 7. A method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size for embroidering in a rectangular sewing area comprising: (a) creating an initial stitch pattern comprised of a sequence of initial character stitch patterns, wherein the initial character stitch patterns are provided by an character stitch pattern database; (b) measuring a width of the initial stitch pattern; (c) measuring a height of the initial stitch pattern; (d) calculating a horizontal adjustment ratio by dividing a width of a rectangular safe zone by the width of the initial stitch pattern; (e) calculating a vertical adjustment ratio by dividing a height of the rectangular safe zone by the height of the initial stitch pattern; (f) multiplying the initial character stitch patterns by the lesser of the horizontal adjustment ratio and the vertical adjustment ratio to produce adjusted character stitch patterns; and, (g) converting the sequence of characters into an adjusted stitch pattern comprised of a sequence of the adjusted character stitch patterns.
 8. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 7 wherein the rectangular safe zone is the rectangular sewing area.
 9. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 7 wherein the rectangular safe zone is inside a guard area of a sewing area and the width of the rectangular safe zone is equal to a width of a rectangular sewing area minus twice a width of the guard area and the height of the rectangular safe zone is equal to a height of the rectangular sewing area minus twice the height of the guard area.
 10. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 7 wherein in the at least one image comprises a plurality of images and further comprising repeating steps (a) through (g) for each of the plurality of images.
 11. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 7 wherein steps (a) through (g) are performed by computer processing means compatible with existing computer processing means for use with automated embroidery machines.
 12. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 7 wherein the sequence of characters is a vertically linear sequence.
 13. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 12 wherein the sequence of characters is a series of columns of vertically linear sequences.
 14. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 7 wherein the sequence of characters is a horizontally linear sequence.
 15. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 14 wherein the sequence of characters is a series of rows of horizontally linear sequences.
 16. The method for producing at least one stitch pattern having an optimal size of claim 7 wherein steps (a) through (f) are performed by computer processing means compatible with existing computer processing means for use with automated embroidery machines.
 17. A method for producing a plurality of stitch patterns having optimal size comprising: (a) measuring a width of an initial stitch pattern; (b) measuring a height of the initial stitch pattern; (c) calculating a horizontal adjustment ratio by dividing a width of a rectangular safe zone by the width of the initial stitch pattern, wherein the rectangular safe zone is inside a guard area of a sewing area and the width of the rectangular safe zone is equal to a width of a rectangular sewing area minus twice a width of the guard area; (d) calculating a vertical adjustment ratio by dividing a height of the rectangular safe zone by the height of the initial stitch pattern wherein the rectangular safe zone is inside a guard area of the sewing area and the height of the rectangular safe zone is equal to a height of the rectangular sewing area minus twice the height of the guard area; (e) multiplying the initial image by the lesser of the horizontal adjustment ratio and the vertical adjustment ratio to produce an adjusted image; (f) processing the adjusted image into a final stitch pattern; and, (g) repeating steps (a) through (f) for each image of the plurality of images.
 18. The method for producing a plurality of stitch patterns of claim 17 further comprising the step of processing an image for use in automated embroidery into an initial stitch pattern prior to the measuring of the width of the initial stitch pattern.
 19. The method for producing a plurality of stitch patterns of claim 17 wherein steps (a) through (g) are performed by computer processing means compatible with existing computer processing means for use with automated embroidery machines. 